March 2, 2015
Living in a World of Communication Can Cause Confusion

It was a like a Twilight Zone overload.....the other day I sat silently observing, a network of one-sided conversations criss-crossing the air waves right before my eyes. One after another, zombie-like characters trudged past me murmuring some sort of code language into the device that was affixed tightly to the side of their faces. I expected to hear the familiar theme music tinkling as someone's ringtone at any minute but I didn't.

Every so often I'd catch an inkling of understanding, but that was about all I got out of the experience. I couldn't help but wonder, was another bystander tuning in to this conversation on their own side somewhere? And what did they make of it all?

It was a yin/yang sort of situation, like the image of folks on the opposite side of the world (in China perhaps?) standing on their heads.  Did they have cell phones plugged into their ears as well?  Was it nighttime where they were, jabbering on the phone to this unknown stranger sitting beside me. And if they dug deeply enough into the ground on which they stood, would they soon come to see my toes as I stood firmly aground?

Was there another annoyed bystander hearing their one-sided conversation much the same as I?  If only we could all get together in a room,I thought; then we might begin to understand things much better.  Put two and two together.  Connect the dots. But that would be an invasion of privacy, would it not?

I've said it before and will say it again:  I just don't know why we must be subjected to involuntary eaves dropping on someone else's telephone conversations.  And why must it always be in the privacy of my public perch?

It's kind of like when a not-so-fond-of-cats person is beset upon by a friendly feline who takes to rubbing against and hopping onto their lap.  Unnecessary, impolite and unwanted.  

Seems like no matter that I seek out the remotest location I can find, soon along comes Ms. or Mr. cell phone user.  And "POOF", there goes any semblance of serenity.  

I guess, when it comes to public telephone use, I could count myself lucky that I'm only hearing one side of it all.  That only leaves me guessing as to just what's on the other end of that phone call......and that's another story altogether! Maybe I just don't want to know that.